Notre Dame receiver Floyd faces alcohol questions

St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher speaks during a news conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, Feb. 24, 2012.

INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Floyd didn't get to talk much about the 100-catch season he had at Notre Dame.

He didn't field many questions about the 1,147 yards and nine touchdowns he piled up last season, or the fact that he'll likely be a high draft pick in April. Instead, Notre Dame's career leader in touchdown catches spent much of his podium time Friday at the NFL combine talking about his arrest last March for drunken driving. The 6-foot-3 receiver isn't worried about explaining the situation to teams over the weekend.

"All I can do is be honest and tell them exactly what happened," he said.

Notre Dame's disciplinary arm chose not to suspend him, even though it was his third alcohol-related brush with the law in two years. Floyd pleaded guilty last June to misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to a year of probation. Prosecutors said a breath test showed Floyd had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, more than double Indiana's legal limit for driving.

Floyd attended classes and said he learned from the experience.

"You grow from it," he said. "It's behind you. It's a mistake that happened in the past and just moving forward."

Floyd made changes after his latest issue.

"I went out less, and just kind of changed the whole environment around me, friends, just guys that I was going to have to be in that position of having to do things that would potentially put me in a troubled position," he said.

He knows he can't have more lapses in judgment if he wants to excel in the NFL.

"It's a professional sport, and you've got to act like a professional," he said.

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NOT SO FAST: Vikings running back Adrian Peterson says he will start running Feb. 28 as his continues to rehab from his knee injury.

Coach Leslie Frazier overruled him.

"He feels like he's ahead of schedule, but we do have to temper his emotions at times," Frazier said. "He's got to listen to what the doctors are telling him and the rehab specialists and go at their pace.

"There are steps to take before you actually start running. Around the fourth or fifth month, he'll do some running in the swimming pool prior to actually getting on land. We'll see how he's responding to what he's doing in the pool before he actually does some hard-surface running."

After the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings let Moss go in 2010, Fisher took a chance on him while still coaching the Tennessee Titans. Moss did little in Nashville, with six catches and 80 yards in eight games before he retired.

Now, the 35-year-old Moss is looking for work, and Fisher left the door open.

"There's a number of players out there," Fisher said. "You guys know my familiarity with Randy. I thought he was great for our locker room."

Moss' body of work compares favorably with the best receivers in NFL history. He is tied for second all-time in touchdowns (153), ranks fifth in yards (14,858) and ninth in receptions (954). His record 23 TD catches in 2007 helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl, and his 10 seasons of at least 1,000 yards are second only to Jerry Rice's 14.

Moss would potentially fill a void for a team whose leading receiver, Brandon Lloyd, had 51 catches for 683 yards last season. The Rams want to keep Lloyd and would like to add pieces to help quarterback Sam Bradford, who missed much of last season with a high left ankle sprain.

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GIANTS ACLs: New York Giants tight ends Travis Beckum and Jake Ballard both tore their ACLs during the Super Bowl, leaving the team with a void heading into the draft.

Beckum tore his right ACL with 12:55 left in the first half and Ballard tore his left ACL in the fourth quarter.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin said both have had their surgeries. Because of the injuries, the Giants are paying more attention to tight ends than usual in their scouting.

"Whether it's draft or whatever, we're going to have to have some way of compensating so we have enough people in camp to be able to work," Coughlin said.

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SCHAUB BETTER: Houston quarterback Matt Schaub is getting around just fine on his right foot.

Heck, he's even itching to get back on the golf course.

Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Friday that Schaub no longer wears a boot to protect the foot that ended his 2011 season in November. Schaub was diagnosed with a Lisfranc fracture after getting hurt against Tampa Bay on Nov. 13. It didn't prevent the Texans from making the playoffs for the first time or becoming AFC South champs.

Schaub is expected to be fully recovered sometime in May but will be held out of the Texans' offseason mini-camps.

"Just to keep him out of harm's way from that standpoint," Kubiak said.

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THOMPSON AND SEINFELD: Ted Thompson did not plead the Fifth Amendment when it came to answering questions Thursday, but the Packers general manager came pretty close.

"I'm a horrible guy to be up here answering questions that I'm not going to answer," he said. "I'm not going to give any information that I think could be used against us. This is a very small fraternity in the National Football League, and once you get to Indianapolis, with everybody here, it's even smaller.

"I guess you can go the route you can say the opposite. You can be like Opposite George on Seinfeld. You know, say whatever is opposite."

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OLD TIMER WEEDEN: Brandon Weeden is following a path to the NFL similar to the one taken by 2000 Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke.

Weeden followed his dream to be a pro baseball player, then switched to football and had an outstanding senior season at Oklahoma State. Weinke also put off college football to play pro baseball, then switched and won the Heisman at age 28, the same age Weeden is now.

Weeden got Weinke's phone number from a mutual acquaintance, and the two talked for 90 minutes.

"He opened up to let me pick his brain a little bit because it's a unique situation," Weeden said. "There's not very many guys who've been in this situation, so he was extremely helpful to me."

The Carolina Panthers took Weinke in the fourth round of the 2001 draft, and he finished his pro career with 3,904 yards passing and 15 touchdowns in five years. He started as a rookie and passed for 2,931 yards and 11 scores.